620 AM-Tampa

[DaveArnold]

Great reception of WDAE-620 AM-Tampa from Charlotte,NC this week during afternoon.
This is the old WSUN-St.Petersburg.

 

[drt]

Great reception of WDAE-620 AM-Tampa from Charlotte,NC this week during afternoon.
This is the old WSUN-St.Petersburg.

Studios are now in Tampa, towers are still on the St. Petersburg side of the Gandy Bridge (connecting south Tampa over Tampa Bay to n.e. St. Petersburg).

Even though radio-locator indicated 5,600 watts day and 5,550 watts night; due to Cuban interference, they have the authority to double that power, so they are actually 11,200 watts day and 11,000 watts night and with the towers practically in Tampa Bay, they do put out a great signal, the best overall AM signal in the St. Petersburg/Tampa metro, but occassionally this time of year, even mid day, I will hear the Cuban station in the background.

Just this past October while driving from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, they were coming in with a very listenable signal from the Louis Armstrong Airport to about 1/3rd the way to Baton Rouge.

Their excellent grounding and the skip over the water over the Gulf makes them listenable all along the shoreline of the Gulf Coast, at least from New Orleans, east and southward.

Getting them in Charlotte doesn't have the advantage of the skip over the Gulf, that was a good catch; does that happen frequently this time of year? Just curious; how early or late in the afternoon was this? This month of January they employ their night time direction pattern beginning at 6PM.

drt,
st. petersburg

 

[DaveArnold]

Between about 4:30pm &5:45pm.I have picked them up in the winter in the past.

 

[drt]

Thanks for the info, WDAE 620 does have a strong signal but I still think that's a great catch to pick them up in Charlotte, considering the other 620's on the air.

I would have thought the 620 out of Knoxville, would have been a more likely candidate to be received in Charlotte.

Out of habit, I sometimes still refer to them as WSUN and for a time in the 1950's and 1960 and maybe even early 1970's they were owned by the city of St. Petersburg, along with channel 38 WSUN TV (the TV station went dark in 1970 after losing their ABC affiliation and not making it as an independent).

I have picked received 620 all day long in mid summer at NAS Pensacola.

Between their low dial postition and towers just a few yards/meters away from being in Tampa Bay, their signal really does get out, in spite of the Cuban station.


drt

 

[DaveArnold]

WRJZ-Knoxville does come in most of the time.This week WDAE has been very strong.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

Out of habit, I sometimes still refer to them as WSUN and for a time in the 1950's and 1960 and maybe even early 1970's they were owned by the city of St. Petersburg, along with channel 38 WSUN TV (the TV station went dark in 1970 after losing their ABC affiliation and not making it as an independent).

One commercial for WSUN 620 in its "62 Country" days featured Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell. I have also seen this commercial in one of the Dick Clark "Bloopers" shows where Ernest apparently burned his tongue on his "world-famous hushpuppy recipe."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTSP2EJFing

 

[cd637299]

WSUN---errr WDAE has one monster daytime signal along the Gulf.

They can be heard in Louisiana in the day. I have to find my Port Fourchon, Louisiana DX tape to find that audio (I emphasized daytime listening on that tape.)

I was at Cape San Blas, FL (that cape south of Tallahassee that sticks out to the south) in July 2012, and WDAE was even putting out its IBOC on 610 & 630 way up there. Was able to get a signal out of WVTJ 610 Pensacola, but no easy trick....

cd

 

[drt]

Thanks for posting the You-tube link, Tim. Back in the day WSUN 620 along with most stations had personality and humor, not sure if they were owned by Plough or Cox broadcasting at the time that commercial was done.

620 is part of the Clear Channel Tampa Bay cluster these days and like most AM stations are a shadow of their former selves; but the great signal remains.

This is the best time of year for AM dx'ing which is virtually non-existant here after February**, between the southern latitude and all the Cuban stations AM dx'ing here is a challenge. Seems as though around 32 degrees latitude north and points north that this time of year, there is a lot of mid day catches to be had.

drt

** except for Gar Fla (about 20 miles north or me)........ he can seem to snag KOA 850 and a lot of other stations I never seem to receive even though we both dx on the same model radio. (Sangean PR-D5)

 

[drt]

WSUN---errr WDAE has one monster daytime signal along the Gulf.

They can be heard in Louisiana in the day. I have to find my Port Fourchon, Louisiana DX tape to find that audio (I emphasized daytime listening on that tape.)

cd

Yes they can, as mentioned earlier in the thread, I was picking them up mid day with a solid signal once I got in a rental and drove from New Orleans to Baton Rouge back in October. A very solid, almost local like signal at least 1/3rd of the way to Baton Rouge and while in Baton Rouge, they were receivable- albeit - weakly all during the day.

drt

 

[cd637299]

I wonder if the signal makes it at all to the TX coastline. Being that there is KILT 610 in Houston, I will rule out that area.

South Padre Island maybe?

cd---PS sorry drt for overlooking that post; a terrible habit of mine.

 

[drt]

Hey CD, that's not a fault (ignoring my posts) many would say that's a sign of intelligence! , since many of my posts have been known to cure insomnia!

Hopefully someone here lives near or has been to South Padre Island and can confirm whether of not 620 WDAE is receivable there.

Cyberdad? or someone else?

drt

 

[jd]

Haven't been to South Padre in quite a while but I never heard anything underneath semi-local XEGH from Reynosa. Considering that station is more or less west of there, it would be really difficult to null, and WDAE is due east.

 

[swfl]

WSUN 620 does indeed have great signal. Being located on the low end of the dial and having those towers all but sitting in the bay surely helps it's cause.

It use to come in here to the Naples area like a local back in the day. It actually had a following down here as there were no Country stations in this area at the time other than WHEW in Ft Myers. Unfortunately now a days it can barely be heard here due to the Cuban interference.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

During the 60's in Laurelton Queens, a little east and north of JFK, WSUN 620 was an early monday morning regular -- perhaps the most faithful of all Florida signals with little 'water path' enhancement.

Local WVNJ used to sign off quite frequently overnight. And it seems that WSUN was always there. Sometimes we'd log Milwaukee's WTMJ, or Vermont's WVMT, or Syracuse's WHEN. But when even those stations were off as well, WSUN was awlays there with its somewhat weak but steady signal. You'd tune up ....... 600 would be WICC from CT, 610 WIP from Philly, then WSUN 620, WPRO 630 from Rhode Island, etc.

Miami's WQAM and WIOD were more evident and more often, but neither of those had to travel over 300 miles of their own state's land plus a few hundred miles of the Carolinas to get to Long Island. With the exception of the outer banks of North Carolina, the path was all water for the Miami stations.

Oddly, WLCY was a frequent Sunday morning catch, just pre-dawn, when the two share-time stations in NY on 1380 often had a gap of maybe a half an hour between their broadcasts. But WSUN was far more of a regular than WLCY. Easily, it was the best signal from the Boss Bay Area.

Yet, from that same area, WDAE 1250 was the toughest regional to log. I heard them exactly once, and not until the early 70's.

 

[drt]

Thanks for the info, JD.

With a semi-local station to the west and WDAE 620 to the east, that would be a nearly impossible task. I'm wondering if the semi-local were to go off the air for any reason, if it still might be possible or if the Cuban might appear as the dominant?

btw- like your signature!

Two trucks loaded with copies of Roget's Thesaurus collided in midtown Manhattan. Witnesses were stunned, startled, aghast, taken aback, shocked, rattled and awestruck.

Pizzlesprung might also fit as to how the witnesses felt when seeing the collision!

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[drt]

During the 60's in Laurelton Queens, a little east and north of JFK, WSUN 620 was an early monday morning regular -- perhaps the most faithful of all Florida signals with little 'water path' enhancement.

Local WVNJ used to sign off quite frequently overnight. And it seems that WSUN was always there. Sometimes we'd log Milwaukee's WTMJ, or Vermont's WVMT, or Syracuse's WHEN. But when even those stations were off as well, WSUN was awlays there with its somewhat weak but steady signal. You'd tune up ....... 600 would be WICC from CT, 610 WIP from Philly, then WSUN 620, WPRO 630 from Rhode Island, etc.


Oddly, WLCY was a frequent Sunday morning catch, just pre-dawn, when the two share-time stations in NY on 1380 often had a gap of maybe a half an hour between their broadcasts. But WSUN was far more of a regular than WLCY. Easily, it was the best signal from the Boss Bay Area.

Yet, from that same area, WDAE 1250 was the toughest regional to log. I heard them exactly once, and not until the early 70's.

WDAE 1250 had a very strong null to the north up until around 2002 or 2003 (IIRC) and receiving 1250 even 20 miles north of Tampa was a challenge during the day and impossible at night; there is still a null to the north, but with a new tower location,increased power and the null isn't as strong, it just might be possible to receive it in that area, unless the 1250 from Charleston would override it.

The 1250 from Charlestown used to come in almost like a local in Mayport (Jacksonville area) FL, Mayport being right on the Atlantic and I've picked up the 1250 Charleston in South Hutchinson Island,Fl (Stuart) as well.

drt,
veering off topic

 

[drt]

WSUN 620 does indeed have great signal. Being located on the low end of the dial and having those towers all but sitting in the bay surely helps it's cause.

It use to come in here to the Naples area like a local back in the day. It actually had a following down here as there were no Country stations in this area at the time other than WHEW in Ft Myers. Unfortunately now a days it can barely be heard here due to the Cuban interference.

I can certainly believe that 620 would now be nearly unlistenable in Naples with the Cuban station on that frequency blasting away. Last year about this time of year (January) I had occassion to drive to Sarasota and since I had a little time on my hands; I took the long route there going through downtown Bradenton and out Manatee Ave W and WDAE 620 was coming in loud and clear (as it should be and always has), but about a mile west of 59th St W as I headed to Anna Maria, the Cuban station started interferring with WDAE, much to my surprise - this was mid day, early afternoon and then by the time I was on the coast and going on Gulf Blvd toward and through Longboat Key, WDAE was dominant, but just barely.......... so I can imagine how bad the interference must be in Naples. After I completed the loop and was in downtown Sarasota, WSUN was loud and clear again.

WSUN is by far the strongest AM signal in and around downtown St Petersburg and the USFSP campus, but sometimes at certain intersections, I will hear the Cuban under WSUN.

drt,
veering back to topic

 

[charlestondxman]

I heard 620 in New Orleans a few years ago with a Walkman in the French Quarter. It comes I. Well all the way to Gainesville daytime, and if not for the 630 out of Savannah, would probably be audible in the Charleston area daytime.

820 is there almost every day from Largo.

 

[cyberdad]

many of my posts have been known to cure insomnia!

Hopefully someone here lives near or has been to South Padre Island and can confirm whether of not 620 WDAE is receivable there.

Cyberdad? or someone else?

drt[/color]

I've been to quite a few places in Texas, but Houston is as close as I've been to South Padre.

Also FYI, everyone, I've recently booked a trip to St. Pete....southern tip of Treasure Island, actually.... for this month. Then our usual spot on the beach by Pensacola next month. I'll post anything of interest that I might come across, but I think gar, drt, swfl, Zach and others have the respective neighborhoods pretty well covered. I'm not sure if I'll turn up anything that hasn't already been discussed.

Talking about how some of the Tampa Bay signals get out (daytime), I can speak from my Pensacola area experience (beach at the Alabama-Florida state line, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Pensacola)....

As others have noted....620 is the big signal. It trips the scan button on my car radio. And it becomes audible again crossing Mobile Bay on I-10. It also has been audible in New Orleans every time I've ever been there, going back to the 1970s....blowing out whatever is left of WJDX. At night in New Orleans, the Tampa 620 disappears and WJDX usually is on top. On the beach near Pensacola, it's more of a jumble...with the North Carolina 620 the most likely to be on top. FWIW, I've never heard WDAE (or WSUN before that) here at home northwest of Chicago. Semi-Local WTMJ owns the channel at night where I am, even though only 480 of their 10,000 nighttime watts are going in my direction. (CKRM is the most common pest.)

As for the other Tampa Bay daytime signals in the Pensacola-Gulf shores area, 820 is probably the strongest. Other relatively strong ones are 970 and to a lesser extent, 1380. Both of these are under two of the better Pensacola signals on adjacents 980 and 1370 respectively. Also audible are 680, 1040, 1250, and....believe it or not....1340. The Sarasota 930 also makes it. Along with about a half dozen Cubans (670 being the strongest of those). WFLF used to make it in....barely...but a new semi-local on 550 has now covered that up.

 

[gar hi]

The interesting thing about all this is that I'm right in Tampa and at night, I can almost completely null out WDAE when I put my radio the right position and a mix of distant stations are heard.